Wine Lover Loses Case Over Counterfeit Wine

(CN) – A wine drinker who accused an auctioneer of selling him counterfeit vintages should have known that he bought the wine “as is,” a New York appeals division ruled, granting the auctioneer’s motion to dismiss the buyer’s lawsuit.

William I. Koch sued wine auctioneer Acker, Merrall & Condit Co. after he bought wine that he later claimed was counterfeit. The trial court denied the auctioneer’s bid for dismissal, but the justices of the Manhattan-based First Appellate Division reversed on appeal. They cited an “as is” provision in the auctioneer’s catalog, which does not guarantee any claims for the authenticity of the wine. “A reasonable consumer, alerted by these disclaimers, would not have relied, and thus would not have been misled, by defendant’s alleged misrepresentations concerning the vintage and provenance of the wine its sells,” the justices wrote.